Investigators said the victim was walking down a West End alley to downtown when a man attacked her and raped her in a stairwell.

A man who happened to be near where the assault happened said he heard screaming and went to investigate.

Mickey Perry said he saw a woman with no clothes on running around the streets so he went to help.

"So I automatically grabbed a blanket and I just went to wrapping her up and called the police and for a quick second even tried to catch the guy," Perry said. "He was right there getting ready to jump that fences climb up the wall there somewhere he was gone."

Perry said the victim told him she was on her way to work and had her headphones on when the man attacked her.

"She said, 'Yeah, I shouldn't have had my headphones on because I didn't hear anything,' before she felt somebody behind her it was too late," Perry said.

He said the victim told him the man hit her every time she tried to scream.

Neighbors said they are taking their safety seriously after the brazen assault.

"And if we see something you better watch out because we're not gonna stand for it," resident Todd Emerson said.

Police said the attacker is described as a black man with facial hair, in his 30s.

An officer described the man as 5 feet 9 inches tall and wearing a Navy blue nylon jacket, a white T-shirt and old baggy blue jeans with black, white and red Nike shoes.

Investigators said they think he could still be in that same area because he ran off on foot.